


The Lake

by SweetSamOfMine (AudreeJo)



Series: Olivia [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Fluffy Ending, Fluffy fic, Happy Sam Winchester, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, sam winchester relaxing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 19:38:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1700135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AudreeJo/pseuds/SweetSamOfMine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam has never considered taking a vacation before, no matter how small. And that's exactly why Liv thinks it's so important to convince him to come along on one of hers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Safiyabat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Safiyabat/gifts).



> This is a fluffy lake fic that kind of loosely*** answers this prompt on Tumblr user safiyabat's Sam-Centric Prompt Page:
> 
> "Sam saying “fuck it” and blazing a trail away from Demon Dean and and going somewhere awesome to treat hisself however he wants.
> 
> Prompter: Anonymous
> 
> End Date: Open"
> 
>  
> 
> ***Note: I say it "loosely" answers the prompt because a) it's not about Sam leaving demon!Dean behind, though Sam does leave regular Dean for a bit and b) I wrote this as part of my original character storyline and I don't know if that's really what Anon cared to read... but here we are, haha!

Liv pulled her phone down from her ear without pressing the “end” button and swirled around to Sam with a loaded smile. He was used to her doing this after hanging up with contacts she’d met from working with hunters across the country.

“Found another job?” Sam asked, anticipating that she was about to invite him to come along.

Liv scrunched up her nose a little, “Not exactly…” She paused, seeming to size him up to predict what his answer might be to whatever question she had for him brought on by this phone call.

Sam raised his eyebrow, “What is it, then?”

Still beaming up at Sam, she raised the phone back to her ear. “I’ll call you right back and let you know. Okay, bye.”  

Sam blinked at her under his furrow brow. What the hell was she going to ask of him?

“Okay,” she began. “I know you and Dean aren’t into taking breaks from hunting-”

“Uh...”

“-and you can’t tell me the last time you went sight-seeing on a job  _even_ -”

“Yeah, but-”

“SO I was wondering if maybe…” She paused to see if he was going to try to interrupt her again. Instead he sighed with a smirk and crossed his arms over his chest as a sign for her to go on. “One of my old friends is getting her aunt’s lake house for the weekend. They said I could invite some of my own friends. Do you want to come?”

“Liv,” Sam hesitated. “I don’t think so.”

“Why  _not_ _?”_  she whined, grabbing and uncrossing his arms to plead with him playfully. “Don’t you think you deserve a breather?”

Sam looked perplex. It’s not something he’d ever allowed himself to have. It’s certainly not something Dean was into, either. Even if Sam agreed to go, he knew Dean would give him hell about it. The way Sam saw it, more than likely any version of him going wouldn’t be worth it. Plus, he was pretty sure he hadn’t worn a swimsuit … maybe … ever?

“Sam. I’m going to go whether you and your dumb brother come or not. My friends promised they’d call me next time they headed out there because I was in the middle of a job last time. But it would be  _so_  much more fun if you came, too! You can just let loose, lay in the sun. Get some distance from all of this.” She made a big gesture with her arms pointing to the surrounding unpacked luggage, weapons casually laid sporadically around the hotel room, paranormal research journals dog-eared and highlighted on the table, and a few vials of holy water next to a few bags of salt.

Expectant eyes stared up at him again. Sam felt weird about it, but a large part of him wanted to go. And it wasn’t just because the idea of having a weekend with Liv with no stress and no monsters was a nice idea, but she was right that he never got space from hunting. Not ever. And he had felt himself burning out for years, so much so that it became a normal part of who he was. So much so that he stopped noticing the feeling, having accepted it as just a normal part of the job, his life, and who we was.

Liv could see him cracking a little, though his brow stayed furrowed. Sam sighed again. “Why don’t you run it by Dean? See if he’s interested.”

Liv cocked her eyebrow at him with a grin. She could tell this was a challenge. “Fine,” she laughed and immediately stormed past Sam through the hotel room door that was directly behind him, catching him by the wrist and dragging him along. Sam followed amusedly. Within seconds Liv was banging on Dean’s door across the hall.

Dean jerked the door open with a confused look on his face that only grew more confused when he saw Liv’s hopeful face paired with Sam’s exasperated smirk. Sam knew how this was going to go. A conversation between Liv and Dean was never dull.

Dean’s eyes jumped from Liv to Sam and back a few times before he blurted out, “ _What_?”

 

_____

“I cannot believe we’re still arguing about this!” Liv groaned.

“And I don’t do shorts!” Dean exclaimed. That was probably at least the third time he had said that since Liv explained the lake house idea about an hour before. Sam was leaning against the wall by the window, away from the fray, entertained by how things were going. He hadn’t said much in the way of trying to convince Dean one way or another, but ever so often he’d interject to point out that Dean was repeating himself.

“Actually, Dean,” Sam mused. “You have done shorts.” Dean’s glare only made Sam’s smile wider.

Liv ignored Sam’s interjection, keeping her eyes on Dean, though the idea of Dean in shorts did amuse her. “C’mon, Dean. We just finished a job here! We literally have nothing to do next.  _This_  could be what we do next!”

“There’s  _always_ a job!”

“ _Okay_ _!_ ” Liv grumbled with finality. “I  _get_ it! Let’s review: You have ‘better things to do than waste time with a bunch of sweaty, oily strangers on a boat,’ hunting is ‘too important to ever  _ever_ take a break from’ even for a moment, despite the fact that I can vouch for these people and have known them for years ‘you don’t know if you can trust them,’ and lastly, ‘you don’t do shorts,’ though apparently you have on occasion,” --she winked at Sam as she mentioned that last one-- “Did I cover everything?”

Dean kind of blinked at her questioningly, as though what she said wasn’t exactly what he had meant when he started to put up such a fuss about the idea initially, but when it was summarized back to him like that… yeah, yeah that is what he meant.

“Sam and I ain’t goin’.” Hearing Dean say that with such decisiveness made Sam stand up straight, away from the wall that he had been resting against. He no longer wore an amused expression.

“Fine, you don’t have to,” she said with a roll of her eyes, making a move for the door. As she passed Dean on her way out, she laid a hand on his shoulder. “Enjoy stewing in how much better you are at your job than I am while I’m drinking beer on a boat for the next four days.” She flashed a semi-sardonic smile at him. She did not feel bad at all for taking a much needed vacation once in a while. How the Winchesters had gone as long as they had with barely even a break to watch TV each night always blew her mind.

As Liv reached the doorway, she paused to turn back one more time, “Sam? How about it? My car is parked right next to the Impala.”

“I already said, we got work to do,” Dean replied. He didn’t really miss a beat when arguing, unless you considered the beat to be the fact that Dean shouldn’t make Sam’s decisions for him. That was a beat Dean consistently seemed to miss.

Now that Sam had sat and listened to a paper thin explanation as to why they shouldn’t take breaks on the job and hearing all the reasons Liv felt it was necessary to do  _just that_ , Sam wondered why he hadn’t jumped at this in the first place. He had never gone on a vacation before, but not because there was any good reason not to. It was always because he had never had an opportunity to do so. He had never had anyone who wanted to go with him on one. He had traveled all over the country, he had seen things hardly anyone has probably ever seen, but he had never done any sight-seeing, Liv was right about that. He had memories that mattered, but no trips taken for the sole purpose of “making memories.”

All the reasons that made him dread agreeing to go in the first place were based on Dean giving him hell if he did. But Dean would surely find another reason to give him hell for something else if he stayed wouldn’t he?

_Fuck it._

“Let’s do it,” Sam said.

Dean jerked around so quickly his neck nearly snapped in half.

“ _Really_ _?_ ” Liv screamed in disbelief. She was so excited she literally bounced back into the room and over to Sam. Even though Dean was glowering at him, Sam couldn’t help but smile as Liv jumped up to throw her arms around his neck in an enthusiastic embrace. He caught her with one arm around her waist.

“Yeah,” he reiterated into her hair. “I’ll come right over to finish packing”

“Okay!” she squealed as she dropped back down to the floor and turned to leave again. She caught Dean’s angry expression on her way out and added a genuine “Sorry!” with a shrug. As the door closed behind Liv, the boys eyed each other.

“What the hell, dude!” Dean shouted.

“It’ll only be a few days,” Sam stated.

“What about all that stuff I just said about-”

“Dean, I’m going. You’ll live. We can meet back up with you in four days.”

“And  _what the hell_  am I supposed to do until then?”

“You said it yourself, Dean. ‘There’s always a job.’ That’s why you turned down her invitation right?”

Dean only answer with a frown that bordered on pouting.

“You’ll find something to do. We’ll see you in a few days.” Sam started towards the door, turning back before he exited completely, wondering what kind of goodbye he was going to get from his brother. “Okay?”

Dean made an over exaggerated shrug. Sam decided that was all he was going to get, so he nodded at him and closed the door behind him.

 

_____

“I’m so glad you came with me, Sam,” Liv crooned from the passenger seat of her car. Sam was driving them from Lake Elsinore to a tiny town in Arizona where Dean had ended up investigating a poltergeist. She was slightly sunburned and exhausted after three days in a row on the boat, riding jetskis, and laughing with her friends.

“Me, too,” Sam replied, reaching over with his newly bronzed arm to squeeze her hand. And he meant it. As he packed his things and hopped in Liv’s car a few days before, he wasn’t sure how the weekend would go. He didn’t know Liv’s friends and Sam wasn’t what you’d call the most social person, though he was incredibly good with people in general. He thought of all the possible outcomes of going and knew if worst came to worst, he’d just be in the presence of people he’d have to pretend to like and be polite to, and he had endured much worse.

But he didn’t have to pretend. Liv’s old friends --people who had no idea about her hunting  background or the fact there was even a paranormal world in which to hunt-- were hilarious and fun and genuinely tried to make Sam feel at ease. Plus, Sam hadn’t been the only new guest brought along. There were a few additions to the group, which took some of the pressure off, Sam felt.

He had been quiet and reserved at first. Observant. He enjoyed peering into this world that he could never be a part of himself. It was obvious to him that it was effortless for these friends to slip back into the patterns of their friendship, as though they hadn’t been parted for months, and for some even years.

_This is what regular people do. This is how normal people get to spend holidays and vacations._

Sam would get so lost in his observation that he’d be surprised when the focus of the group landed on him. The group tried to draw him out his shell many times, but Sam was a master at politely deflecting questions. There was only so much he would go into before he considered it too personal. The group deemed him “tall and mysterious,” and with help from Liv casually steering the conversations away from too many questions, Sam was able to remain  _the tall mystery_ to the rest of the group for the duration of the trip.

Sam felt charged as the trees whipped by the window as he drove down the highway towards another hunt. He knew he’d meet a cantankerous Dean at the end of this road trip. And he knew that he’d hear a never ending bitchfest of how much work Dean had had for four whole days while Sammy was improving his tan, but that didn’t seem to weigh him down.

Because for a few days there had been no monsters and no stress. There had been no guilt and no pressure placed on him for reasons he couldn’t understand or escape. For a few days there had been no reason to dwell on the things he didn’t do right or wish he could have undone all together.

There  _had_ been, however, wind in his hair and sun against his face and laughter, among many other things he’d never forget.

There had been really bad radio reception that was somehow linked to where the passengers of the boat stood, causing a few of them to consistently have to resituate and trade places as the boat floated around it’s anchor. If a song the group really loved was on when the reception gave out, Sam thought the drunken scramble to find the station again was worth the trip out there alone.

There had been Rocky Road ice cream back at the house to snack on after they were done at the lake. (Liv insisted she and Sam share a big bowl because she hated nuts and she would pick them out of her scoop and put them on his.)

Then, after dinner, there was a bedroom where he got to snuggle up with Liv and actually relax, with nowhere to go the next day but back out on the lake. No hunt, no stake-outs, no job to preoccupy his dreams. There had been actual restful sleep. Sleep that allowed him to curl around Liv protectively, not because his nerves told him it was necessary, but because he just wanted to enjoy being that close to her.

There had been a lull in day two that maybe no one would remember but Sam. Everyone had gotten quiet as they rocked back and forth from the waves pushing against the boat, a few of them seeming to even be asleep under their sunglasses. Sam sat on the bench in the front of the boat alone, falling back into the habit of observing as he continuously did throughout the weekend, when Liv appeared in front of him. He was zapped out of his dazed thoughts. Liv’s cheeks were red, partially from the sun but also a bit from the ales she had been drinking earlier in the afternoon. She was definitely buzzed.

“ _Sammy_ _,_ ” she said. It was slightly slurred and punctuated with giggles. He knew she wouldn’t call him ‘Sammy’ if she had been more sober. She knelt down in front of him and put her hands up into his hair.

Sam put his hands up over hers and brought them back down, holding them in his lap to steady her. “Yes?” he said, patiently, with an amused grin. He knew she wouldn’t recognize that he was kind of laughing at her, but it was only because he thought she was a real cute drunk.

“Sammy, I don’t think you know this but you should know this, okay? So I am going to tell you.” Her face turned slightly distressed, like what she had just said reminded her to be upset about something. Then she let the big confession go:  “You’re so special, Sammy. You  _are_.” She emphasized the last part.

Sam nodded graciously with a smile. “Thank you, Livvy.”

“You are. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I do, thank you.” He was trying very hard not to let the humor seep into his voice since Liv was clearly taking this moment very seriously.

Liv jerked her hands out from under Sam’s so she could grab his shoulders. “No!” she protested. “No, you  _don’t_ _!_  That’s what I’m  _saying_. Sam! You’re beautiful. Both places…” --she made a wavy gesture around his face and then thumped him hard on the chest, over his heart. Both gestures startled Sam and made him have to fight back laughter simultaneously-- “... and sometimes I know you don’t believe it. I can  _feel_ it. And that makes me so sad, Sammy. So sad...” It almost looked like tears were going to start falling from her eyes.

Sam scooped up her hands again. “Liv, it’s okay,” he tried to assure her using his earnest voice. “I’m okay. I… I know I’m special. I do.”

Liv stared hard at him for a second. “Don’t do the thing,” she slurred a bit. “Don’t say you’re fine when you’re not fine, Sam Winchester. Even drunk I can tell when that’s what you’re doing.”

An exasperated grin split Sam’s face. He appreciated that she truly did know him well enough to call his bluff, even though she was buzzed.

Liv raised up and plopped down next to him on the bench, curling up under his arm, against his chest. She closed her eyes and sighed, “I would do anything to make you see Sam Winchester like I do….” She trailed off. “He’s the best.” And before long she was napping in his arms.

Drunk Liv may not fully remember that conversation, but Sober Sam would for a very long time.

There had been a jetski, something he discovered he loved and was naturally really good at on day three. Liv had gone out on it for a bit, and upon returning, she asked if Sam would like to try. He didn’t hesitate.

He loved feeling the freedom of flying across the water, Liv hanging onto his vest, laughing gleefully. He even took it out alone a few times. He loved the wind whipping through his hair, how the sound blotted out everything else, and he enjoyed testing the limit of the thing, because no matter what happened, he had survived worse. It was a carefree exhilaration he didn’t expect but was so glad to discover just before the end of the trip.

When he brought the jetski back to the boat the last time he took it out, he wore a big smile on his face he couldn’t explain or wipe away. Liv was standing at the top of the ladder blocking Sam’s way to get back on the boat. (It wasn’t often she got to be taller than Sam and she enjoyed when an opportunity would arise.)

“How was the water?” she asked, placing her hands on his shoulders.

He took another step up the ladder to get closer until he was nearly perfectly level with her. “It was great,” he replied. Then he grabbed her and kissed her, in front of everyone --something  _the tall mystery_  from two days before wouldn’t have done-- and tilted back on the ladder with her in his arms, pulling her screaming off the back of the boat and into the water with him. The group cheered, though Liv wasn’t thrilled about being completely submerged in the lake, unexpectedly.

When they both made it back onto the boat, Liv turned to Sam to punch him in the shoulder or something like that, but she couldn’t bring herself to. When she turned, Liv saw her friends gathered around him at the ladder, patting him on the back and high-fiving him for his spontaneous prank. She saw genuine laughter and a genuine smile on his face, surrounded by a chorus of different  _Way to go, Sam!_ s. And while she didn’t love that now her cover-up was drenched, she did love how roused Sam seemed all of a sudden, and how beautiful this lightheartedness looked on him. It was something she had never seen, but exactly what she hoped to find if she could just get him to come out with her like this. That sight made her feel triumphant.

These are the things Sam was thinking of as the trees whipped by on his way to the next job. These are the things that charged him up and stirred something inside of him. The world still sucked, hunting was still necessary, there were still terrible things to fear, but the break in the monotony gave him a kind of buoyancy he never anticipated. For a few days he felt normal, for a few days he felt light, for a few days he was allowed to pretend the entire world didn’t seem to ride completely on his shoulders at all times.

It made him feel better to remember what civilian life really looked like. He would never get to have the normal kind of life those people at the lake house had, but he could make the world they live in a little bit safer.

 

When Sam returns to Dean at the end of this road trip and Dean complains about all the stuff he’s had to do alone for four days, completing his rant with something along the lines of  _“I hope that vacation was freakin’_ _worth it_ _!”_  Sam knows he won’t respond. There isn’t anything he could say to convince Dean it was. But Sam knows, and for reasons he doesn’t have to explain, he’d do it again in a second.


End file.
